Suspect in Rye triple killings, fire caught in Oklahoma

A manhunt that lasted just over a month came to an end Saturday night when authorities apprehended fugitive Harry Mapps at a small hotel near Interstate 40 in Roland, Okla.

The operation to capture Mapps was conducted by Deputy U.S. Marshals and officers from the Eastern District of Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force, with the assistance of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Roland Police Department.

Mapps is suspected of shooting Reginald and Kim Tuttle and their daughter, Dawn Roderick, at their Rye home then setting the house on fire as a cover-up on Nov. 27.

Mapps had a no-bond nationwide extraditable warrant for three counts of first-degree murder and additional felony charges of theft, identity theft, theft, forgery and arson. He also was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service for federal Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution.

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While on the lam, Mapps was driving the same van he was last seen in when he cashed checks in Pueblo and La Junta on the day of the murders.

“Roland, Okla., is kind of a small town right off of I-40. I-40 is a known interstate that goes from the East Coast to the West Coast,” J.R. Hall, Pueblo County undersheriff, said. “Those major thoroughfares are what we were looking for given his trucking background, and we had every indication he would be staying in smaller hotels along the way.”

Intelligence gathered by U.S. Marshals led them to the Mapps’ van parked outside of the hotel in Roland.

“They simply waited for the right kind of information to come forth and found out that he was in a local hotel, and then developed a plan to get him to come out of his room safely,” Hall said. “They did everything with high precision and without incident.”

Authorities believe Mapps was in transit to another destination. Hall said he has no known family in Oklahoma.

Mapps’ mugshot shows him bleeding with cuts on his face, but Hall said that was the result of a takedown.

“You have to keep in mind that this is someone suspected of murdering three people and suspected of carrying a firearm; it’s a dynamic situation,” he said. “I’d imagine they took him down to make sure he didn’t have any weapons and in the course of that, suffered a minor injury. Those types of injuries tend to bleed a lot. I know of no significant injuries to Mr. Mapps.”

Hall said the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office was happy to hear of the capturing of Mapps, but not overly so.

“Although we’re excited, we know we still have a long process,” he said. “Conviction is where we’re looking now. It’s all part of what we in the business call the ‘three legs of a stool.’ You have to have a good investigation, good medical examination and good prosecution. I think we will get justice for the family and victims in this case.”

Two detectives from the PCSO traveled to Roland on Sunday to speak with Mapps.

Mapps is currently being held at a jail in Sequoyah County in Oklahoma.

Hall said it is unknown right now when Mapps will be back in Pueblo and in custody at Pueblo County jail.

“When we talk about extradition, it’s really up to the individual to either waive extradition or fight extradition,” Hall said. “He will come back to Pueblo and get justice here. The victims and the family will get justice from him here. It’s just a matter of whether he fights extradition or we have to get a governor’s warrant. At this point it’s too close to call when he will be back.”

Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor expressed his gratefulness to law enforcement agencies across the nation and is pleased to see Mapps captured.

“There are a lot of people who will breathe easier knowing Harry Carl Mapps is in custody and our gratitude goes out to the law enforcement agencies nationwide who worked to locate this fugitive, specifically those in the Roland community and the U.S. Marshals Service,” he said.